South Arica’s state utility Eskom is undermining the development of renewable energy in South Africa, writes Professor Hartmut Winkler of the University of Johannesburg. According to Winkler, the country’s coal and nuclear lobbies are behind the opposition to renewables. The struggle is part of a wider political confrontation over control of key parts of the South African economy. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]

The UK government is proposing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, in a move that echoes a recent announcement in France. Setting this sort of media-friendly target is a positive and welcome response to the challenge of air pollution across UK cities, write Richard Brooks and Jason Begley of Coventry University. But delivering the infrastructure, research and development support and incentives to switch to greener cars … [Read more...]

One question that arises from the announcement by the UK government that new diesel and petrol cars will be banned by 2040 is what it means for biofuels. According to Raffaella Ocone of Heriot-Watt University, co-author of a recent UK-government-funded report into the biofuels industry by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the 2040 ban could be viewed as an opportunity for the biofuels sector. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]

Electricity prices in Europe will become volatile, variable renewable energy will grow but will still be supplemented significantly by conventional power plants. These are of some of the main outcomes of the power price scenario EU Energy Outlook 2050, released by Energy Brainpool. One of the major question marks for the power sector will be the development of e-mobility, write Carlos Perez-Linkenheil and Simon Göß. … [Read more...]

People are excited about batteries, from electric cars to Tesla’s 129 megawatt-hour energy storage project in South Australia. But one important issue is often overlooked: the raw materials needed to build this technology – where they come from and their environmental cost. Ben McLellan of Kyoto University takes a closer look at what goes into the lithium-ion battery. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]

Like many industries today, the oil industry is trying to sell its many job opportunities to the fastest growing portion of the global workforce: Millennials. But unlike any other industry, oil and gas is facing more challenges in persuading the environmentally-conscious Millennials that oil is "cool", writes Tsvetana Paraskova of Oilprice.com. “Many Milennials believe the sector is lacking in innovation, agility and creativity, as well as … [Read more...]